Articles by Casey Hans

“Ann Arbor is a special place and I am enormously proud to join its heritage of excellence,” says Ann Arbor’s incoming superintendent who begins on July 1. She writes an introductory letter here and a brief article offers background about Green.

She is an extraordinary educator, visionary and leader,” says Interim Superintendent Robert Allen. “She has been a pleasure to work with and her efforts have been tremendous and their effect immeasurable and far-reaching. I don’t know if we can ever thank her enough.” Dickinson-Kelley said she is looking forward to spending more time with family.

The recently launched website www.annarboralumni.org is designed to bring together alumni members, staff and friends of the Ann Arbor Public Schools. The site is made possible through the AAPS Educational Foundation.

The Widening Advancements for Youth Washtenaw county program is run through the Washtenaw Intermediate School District. In its pilot year in 2010-11, the program had 240 students from 10 Washtenaw districts enrolled; in the coming year, it will expand to a full program and add more students, bringing the total served to as many as 420.

The students’ written predictions and reflections have been collected in the book “2020: Visions of the (Near) Future” published by 826michigan. It is the result of a yearlong residency with the local writing, publishing and tutoring nonprofit’s staff and volunteers.

The three-year-old program involves staff and students at all levels and is part of an initiative under the district’s Strategic Plan. Also being put in place is an Achievement Gap Elimination Plan, which was presented to the school board in June.

Andy Hsiao created a shirt with a “Fight on, Japan!” message, which became a hot item sold throughout the Ann Arbor community. He sold 443 shirts, raising nearly $2,500 for the Rotary Japan Disaster Recovery Fund.

Seventh-graders harvested produce last week that was cleaned and served in the district’s middle school cafeterias. The pilot project is the first of its kind in Ann Arbor and may be repeated in the fall.

AAPS employee Amy McConnell will walk with a district team in this year’s Relay for Life Ann Arbor. The event will feature more than 400 walkers in the 24-hour relay on June 25 at Washtenaw Community College.